some some things. i haven't really been able to get online much to do. i was in the classroom all day. >> i appreciate your time tonight. thank you for what you do as a profession. i know your students count on you. thank you for going to the governor face to face on that. we will follow up to find out if the governor is going to spend a week in her classroom. go do her job for a week, governor. that's "the ed show." i'm ed shultz. "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton begins now. good evening, rev. >> good evening, ed. thanks for tuning in. tonight's lead, the gop agony of repeat. republicans keep running to the right and they keep losing the fight. exactly one year ago today just two days before the election, mitt romney was in the great state of virginia telling voters he was going to win. >> thanks so much, you guys. virginia is the best. >> virginia is the best.

and it's also the state barack obama won. one year later after a gop autopsy and a vow to rebrand, they haven't learned anything. any moment dozens of senate republicans are expected to vote against a gay rights law that would ban discrimination against gay and lesbian employees in the workplace. that's 39 republicans who didn't get the memo. why? because they haven't learned anything. what about women's rights? republican senator lindsey graham is now launching a new fight against a woman's right to choose. calling for a 20-week abortion ban. >> i've been a pro-life member of congress since day one. i'm proud to lead this charge. >> todd akin was once proud to lead this charge. how'd that work out?

again, they haven't learned anything. and this extreme ideology is particularly bad. look at virginia. the republican candidate for governor ken cuccinelli is as far right as they come. he thinks same-sex relationships are immoral, wants to ban abortions with no exception, and once said it's possible the president was born in kenya. and he's plunging in the polls. 12 points behind. so why is that? president obama was in virginia over the weekend with the answer. >> you've seen on extreme faction of the republican party that has shown again and again and again that they're willing to hijack the economy and the country and grind to a halt if

they don't get 100% of what they want. now -- >> the extremists are hijacking the entire party and one year later they haven't learned anything. joining me now are joan walsh and cynthia tucker. thanks for joining me. >> good to be here, reverend. >> joan, the president talked about hijacking the country. a year later, they did not learn anything. >> it's been a lost year for the republican party. and we're really feeling it as we sit and watch what's going on in virginia. they've nominated somebody who is just a total extremist. they're blocking action on immigration reform, so they're doing nothing to appeal to latinos. they've really -- cuccinelli continues to insist that this is a referendum on obama care and rollout problems aside and we know we've seen those, we know that women love obama care. so not just abortion, not just

all this rhetoric and action if he got elected on abortion is problematic for women, but obama care as well. obama care has really helped women by making sure that women are no longer paying more than men for the simple fact of bringing the next generation into the world. and republicans hate this. but women love it. so they've really -- they spent a year in the wilderness and they're not getting out any time soon. >> you know, cynthia, in line with that, the house speaker john boehner today said he's opposing the non-discrimination act. his spokesperson issued this statement, quote, the speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost american jobs. >> it's stunning, reverend al. it is absolutely stunning to see the republican party running away.

this is a party that's embracing every right wing nostrum that they can think of. the vast majority of americans support gay rights. certainly they support people to have jobs, not to be discriminated against in the workplace. the vast majority of americans support a diverse america. and even with the problems that obama care is having, most americans believe people ought to be able to get affordable health care. so, you know, in 30 years of covering politics, i have never seen a political party that time and time again embraces the things that most people do not want. it's a surefire losing strategy. >> over and over and over again,

it seems they are doing that. in virginia, president obama talked about how voters remember actions of the extreme, joan. listen to this. >> if you embrace the very politics that led to this shutdown, then i guarantee it's not in the rearview mirror of voters in virginia. they remember. they understand that that is not how you govern or move america forward. >> voters are going to remember, particularly virginia with so many government workers, but all over the country voters will remember tomorrow the shutdown that we just got over within the last 30 days. >> well, and ken cuccinelli, maybe he doesn't even want to win, reverend al. because, you know, he knows that the shutdown hurt his chances. he knows it was very, very unpopular in virginia. so what does he do? he brings in rand paul and marco rubio who both voted to continue

the shutdown. so on the one hand, he made some noises about maybe it wasn't the best way to solve problems, blah, blah, blah. but he brings in heroes of the shutdown. >> but at the same time, cynthia, that he brought in heroes of the shutdown, he tried to have it both ways when ted cruz came into virginia. and the vice president and the democratic candidate that he's opposes terry mcauliffe, they linked ken cuccinelli to ted cruz. just listen. >> someone who wants to govern in what they hope to be a new tradition of ted cruz. you might remember ted cruz just gave us the shutdown terry just talked about. >> could you imagine if ted cruz, ken cuccinelli, and the tea party actually ran the virginia government? >> now, let's not forget, cynthia, just last month cuccinelli shunned ted cruz at even a photograph in virginia. he avoided being photographed

with the shutdown king. i mean, so even with cuccinelli realizing that cruz was taxic, he hangs out with the other guys that voted for the shutdown. what does this tell you of the overreach of the extreme right? >> he can't run away from this record. he has a long record of embracing the most extreme positions. so he might as well hang out with ted cruz. but the other thing the republican party is stuck with, reverend al, is its own base. there is a verse in the bible that talks about sewing the wind and reaping the whirlwind. and that is exactly what the republican party has done. it has spent decades pandering to extremists. people who hate the federal government, people who want to destroy the social safety net for the poor. people who are not comfortable with the diverse america. and they can't run away from those people now. those people are the tea party.

they're base voters. and the party can't run away from them. the establishment thought that they would just be able to use their votes and control the tea party's energy, but they cannot. >> reaping the whirlwind. >> exactly. they're reaping the whirlwind. >> you know, joan, when you look at that fact that about a year ago when we had the election almost a year ago exactly in a couple of days, if you looked at 2012, in the ratings, the opinion polls, the ratings of october 2012 a month before, the republican party was doing 26% in approval. after all the talk of change, what has happened? they're now down to 22%. the lowest on record. it's an unbelievable slide for a party that pledged to rebrand and have an autopsy.

they've gone down to 22%. >> yeah. the other thing you see in the virginia race, reverend al, is the democratic party is amazingly unified. there are differences at the margins, but you have bill and hillary clinton there in virginia. you've got president obama. you've got vice president biden. people are coming out. it's a unified party that knows what it stands for and that is really trying to make virginia a wakeup call to the rest of the country that republicans learned nothing from their drubbing in 2014. >> also in the year, the republicans really haven't changed their agenda. i mean, when we look at the fact last year mitt romney's 47% comment defined the election, now republicans in congress are pushing a measure to cut $40 billion from food stamps. last year republicans pushing a variety of voter i.d. bills.

this year their plan to push new voter i.d. bills. last year they vowed to defeat the affordable care act. this year, drum roll, they're vowing to defeat the affordable care act. they haven't changed anything. >> and remember they spent a lot of time after their loss a year ago talking about immigration reform. oh, we absolutely must reach out to latinos. it's a growing part of the country. we cannot win unless we reach out to latinos. what have they done on that? they're continuing to say they're not going to vote for a bill that will give latinos a path to citizenship. so on every single point, they're doing exactly the same thing they were doing before. >> well, i'm going to have to leave it there, ladies. thank you joan walsh and cynthia tucker. thanks for your time tonight. >> good to be here, reverend. coming up, the right wing's obama care sabotage strategy strikes again. but we have the facts. plus, they couldn't buy the

election. now these far right billionaires have a new scheme. and a mom says this is a family tradition. her son in a klan costume. plus, live from new york, it was saturday night. and i made a surprise appearance. i'll tell you why. and friend or foe, i want to know. reply al is ahead. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

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the holidays can be an especially difficult time. everything's different now. sometimes i feel all alone. christmas used to be my favorite. i just don't expect anything. what if santa can't find me? to help, sleep train is holding a secret santa toy drive. bring your gift to any sleep train, and help keep the spirit of the holidays alive. not everyone can be a foster parent, but anyone can help a foster child. have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. today mitt romney got a lot of attention for accusing president obama of being fundamentally dishonest about the affordable care act.

susan says, this is coming from the most fundamentally dishonest person ever. he denies his own plan. joseph says, it's sour grapes from a sore loser. robert says, this is what passes for a republican elder states n statesman. but romney's line is just the tip of the iceberg in the right wing smear campaign against the health care act. more on their latest attacks coming up next. but first, we want to hear what you think. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. coughs, sneezes ] i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is. add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance and we'll replace stolen or destroyed items

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we're only one month into a six-month open enrollment period. everybody who wants to get insurance through the market place, they'll be able to get it. it's not as if this is a one-day sale or something. all right? so we've just got to keep on working. >> president obama just moments ago talking to grassroots supporters about the gop's fight against his health care law. right wing spend machine has been peddling false and misleading information about obama care. using stories about the tiny fraction of people who will have to shift their coverage. fox news has pounced on people like diane barrette. with one of those stories. just watch how fox used her to trot out their tired old talking

points about the law. >> did this happen to you? a florida woman finds out she has to pay ten times as much for health insurance that is because she's using her current plan to obama care. i got a copy of your florida blue insurance. and about $54 a month. now i understand that under obama care it's going to go up at least they said that the policy they would offer you under florida blue would be $591. is that correct? >> that's correct. >> but all that spin hides the truth. a new republic reporter tracked diane down and explained how obama care plans could provide much better coverage and for just $50 to $100 more a month. her response, quote, i would jump at it. with my age things can happen. i don't want to have bills that could make me bankrupt. i don't want to lose my house. i would jump at it. as would millions of americans

who don't have insurance or who have insurance so bad it doesn't really cover anything anyway. right wingers are hell bent on sabotaging obama care any way they can. but they can't stop americans from learning how the law works for everyone. joining me now is "washington post" jonathan capehart. thanks for being here tonight. >> hi, rev. >> jonathan, your column today points out the gop hypocrisy on all this. you write, quote, what the gop gleefully calls a train wreck was a self-fulfilling prophecy of republican sabotage. so republicans have been fighting against the law for years, and now they're spreading lies about it? >> oh, yeah. see, here's the thing. republican party have been trying to kill the affordable care act since before it became the law of the land. they thought the supreme court would do the work for it by

declaring it unconstitutional. that didn't happen. in terms of trying to implement the law first says t"the washington post" said in the paper was they basically starved the federal exchanges of money. so all those state exchanges that were all, you know, applauding and cheering and working perfectly well, there was funding for those exchanges. but the federal exchange, no money. in fact, juliette reports that kathleen sebelius couldn't find enough money to keep programmers under her wing and so what ended up happening was all of the responsibilities were fragmented to several offices in different locations. so what ends up happening is the train wreck that the republicans predicted would happen came true largely in part because of what republicans did to try to derail

the law. now, that's not to say that there weren't mistakes, miscalculations, political timidity on the white house's part. but at least the white house is trying to do something affirmative, do something positive for people who don't have health insurance. the republicans have been trying to sabotage a law with no alternative to replace it with. >> and what you said just now interestingly enough seems to be where the american people are, jonathan. because if you look at the polls, the public still wants to give obama care a chance. 47% want to keep or expand the law. only 24% want to see the law repealed. and 13% say they want the law repealed and replaced with a republican sponsored alternative. clearly not a vote of confidence for the republicans. 13%. and clearly 47% saying we want to keep or expand obama care.

>> yeah. and imagine what the numbers would be like if the republicans actually had a viable alternative to the law that they're trying to kill. one. and two, wouldn't it be nice if the republican party rather than trying to kill settled law worked with the administration and democrats in the house and senate to make the law better. no one's saying that the law is perfect. but certainly it -- you know, the way government is supposed to work is that the opposition looks for a problem and tries to say here's our plan to make it better. and here's why you should focus on what we're doing. that's not what the republicans are doing at all in this case. >> no. i think that's telling. when you look at the republican plan, the only one we saw was romney care, massachusetts. that's right. that's where obama care emanated a lot of its ideas. so they can't quote that. going to have to leave it there.

thank you for your time this evening. >> thanks a lot. coming up, the billionaires right wingers bank rolling these creepy ads have a new plan to attack democrats today. and get ready. it's almost time for tonight's edition of rand paul plagiarizes. no need to source this one. we got you again. next. [ female announcer ] who are we?

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reported on further evidence of him borrowing from other sources. and over the weekend, buzzfeed discovered even more. several pages of senator paul's book are nearly identical to passages from a study in the right wing heritage foundation. word for word. this is a big problem. so here's how senator paul responded to the story this weekend. >> the footnote police have been dogging me for the last week. i will admit that. >> oh, no. the footnote police. those guys are scary. what will he do to protect himself? >> if duelling were legal in kentucky, if they keep it up it'd be a duel challenge. i can't do that because i can't hold office in kentucky. >> the lost art of challenging someone to a duel. of course, that's the answer. but rand paul's office might be a little too busy right now to prepare him for a duel.

because the footnote police got to him. buzzfeed is reporting that the links to sources are suddenly appearing on senator paul's website. and that some speech transcripts are disappearing altogether. wow. getting rid of the evidence, perhaps. senator paul, did you think we wouldn't notice you can't duel your way out of this one? nice try, but we're calling your bluff because we got you. many cereals say they're good for your heart, but did you know there's a cereal that's recommended by doctors? it's post shredded wheat. recommended by nine out of ten doctors to help reduce the risk of heart disease. post shredded wheat is made with only one ingredient: one hundred percent whole grain wheat, with no added sugar or salt. try adding fruit for more health benefits and more taste in your bowl. is the ideal way to start your heart healthy day. try post shredded wheat. this has been medifacts for post shredded wheat. i got this.

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>> this is the mother of all wars we've got the next 18 months. for the life or death of this country. >> they lost the mother of all wars. and after the election, david koch told forbes, quote, we're not going to roll over and play dead. and today we're seeing what he meant. "the new york times" reports the koch-backed tea party group americans for prosperity is going local. it's trying to sway the mayor and city council races in a small town in iowa. the group's also been involved in property tax fights in kansas, ohio, and texas. the news comes -- this news comes just weeks after "the times" reported the kochs were, quote, deeply involved with groups that plotted the government shutdown. and gave millions to another group that made the creepy uncle sam ads. trying to scare people not to

get health insurance. here's how they got into the halloween spirit. ♪ >> now the fear campaign could be coming to your local town. and just like last year, the fight is on. joining me now are krystal ball and james peterson. thank you both for being here. >> thanks for having us, rev. >> krystal, a koch-backed tea party group getting involved in iowa city council race. what's the strategy here? >> the kochs have always been willing to push their ideologies at all levels. these are the guys also behind the american legislative exchange council. and they pushed their agenda through model legislation that

was anti-worker and pro-big business at the state level across the country. so this is something they've been doing in different ways across the country. i think the focus on the local, local level is relatively new, though, and particularly insidious. >> you know, james, if you look back at just how involved the kochs were in 2012, nay personally pledged to spent $60 million. a koch operative ran a secret bank that donated $236 million to conservative causes. leaders of the party go to their events. and even sent a letter to thousands of employees telling them to vote. including a friendly reminder that the company endorsed mitt romney. i mean, it was a multi-pronged approach. does that say to you? >> what it does is it outlines the sort of self-centered and sinister intent of the koch brothers and all of the

affiliates and organizations that they fund. you know, what's going on in iowa is particularly sort of important for us to focus in on. because it may look like small town politics, but actually the ideology behind their involvement is they want to essentially pit big business versus government. they're much more interested in evading taxes for business and privatizing different public entities than they are actually allowing elections to unfold in the ways that local elections should unfold. they take that at every level. at the very local level of cities and municipalities, they want to do it at the state level. and they also want to do it at the federal level dumping millions, tens of millions of dollars into presidential elections. again, they're the textbook case of why we have to get money out of politics. >> you know, it's also interesting, krystal, as i said in the opening of this segment that they said they're not going to roll over and play dead. and here we see it being

demonstrated and manifesting itself in local elections. but the president lately has been calling out billionaires with an outsize influence on politics. take a listen. >> there aren't a lot of functioning democracies around the world that work this way. where you can basically have millionaires and billionaires bank rolling whoever they want, however they want, in some cases undisclosed and what it means is ordinary americans are shut out of the process. >> ordinary americans are shut out of the process, the president says. how can this big money be countered? >> well, that's the million-dollar question at this point given what the supreme court has done. pun intended. given what the supreme court has done, it's given us very little -- very few avenues to address the problem of money in politics without going forward with a constitutional amendment. at this point the only thing you could do is try to counter that

money. as we did i think in 2012 with citizen activism. there's still nothing more powerful than people getting out and pressuring their legislators. but i think what you see here is a sort of trickle-up effect from the koch brothers money at republican level and at the local and state level. the reason they have a sort of bulletproof majority in the house right now is because they were so successful getting people in place to run for state legislators across the country in 2013. so they were able to draw districts and gerrymander districts to their favor which is going to help them potentially keep control of the house in 2014. >> but they have been counted in some ways in the state of california, james, the state of california recently fined two groups. one with ties to the koch brothers, a million dollars for violating campaign finance laws. and they called a victory over dark money. after citizens united, do we

have to rely on states to be aggressive about requiring groups to disclose their political donors, dr. peterson? >> well, i do believe that we have to -- until we're going to sort of repeal the supreme court decision or as krystal suggests get some constitutional amendments to make a more robust model for campaign measuring of finances, i think we have to meet them both where they are as movements, with citizens engaged in political processes coming out to vote. and yes at the state level. remember, democrats don't control a whole lot of states. but people have got to press their legislators and make sure they're paying attention to what's going on. otherwise privatization, large businesses, and the 1% will continue to dominate politics. >> you know, krystal, president obama's speaking tonight to the grassroots groups organizing for america. and they just put out this ad. about a young man going home for the holidays. check it out.

>> what the heck do they want to talk to me about? so what's so important? >> your dad and i are moving in with you. >> roomies! >> we know what you did in vegas. >> we know what you did at mardi gras. >> we know what you did last summer. >> so what did you want to talk to me about? >> we know you don't have health insurance. >> we love you no matter what, but it's time to get covered. >> that's it? health insurance? >> now, this ad is encouraging parents to talk to their kids about getting insured. is this a way to take on creepy uncle sam commercials? >> well, it's certainly, i would say, a more moral message versus uncle sam which was encouraging young people not to get health insurance which i think is outrageous that you would think it is okay to try to convince young people that they should

roll the dice and go without health insurance rather than do anything to support this president. i think this will help. we're seeing numbers from the website in new reports now that are showing young people are going to the website. they're interested in getting covered. if we could get the glitches worked out on the website, i think we'll be successful. >> krystal ball and james peterson, thanks for your time. before we go, a note. we reached out to koch industries today and asked about american prosperity's involvement in iowa. they told us, quote, we're not involved in their day-to-day operations and we do not direct the activities of the organization. coming up, how radical is texas voter suppression law? wendy davis had trouble, and today we have another very high-profile victim. and a family tradition of

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and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? out of all the ugly and distasteful costumes this halloween, this latest one might be the worst. a virginia mother let her

7-year-old son dress as a member of the ku klux klan. why would she allow such an offensive outfit? well, because of family tradition. >> my brother has when he was in kindergarten and when he was 13. >> that's why jessica black's son asked if he could also dress as a member, she made the costume for him. >> because it was cool. >> what was cool about it? >> the hat. >> i did tell him, you know, if you do it there's going to be people talking about you. there's going to be people that say bad things to you when you wear it. it's supposed to be white with white, black with black, man with woman. that's what the kkk stands for. they raise money every year to donate to st. judes. >> so because they donate to charity, her son can wear that hateful outfit? that makes no sense. but it's that outdated logic

that we're seeing spring up all over the country. we saw it recently when a man waved a confederate flag outside the white house. and remember the mississippi senate candidate who reportedly attended two events put on by a neo-nazi confederate group? well, today the biggest tea party group will support him. and today in colorado, voters in ten counties will vote to secede from the state. a conservative block of colorado to looking to break free. they want to form their own state. northern colorado. and all of this comes as more and more pundits compare the obama policies they don't like to slavery. one whole side of the aisle is partying like it's 1860. who's going to tell them they're

150 years behind the times? joining me now are joe madison and bill press. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you. >> good to see you. >> before we goet to the larger political discussion, let's go back to this shocking picture, skroe. why on earth would a mother think it's okay to let her 7-year-old son wear a kkk outfit for halloween? >> because the mother is in one single word, very ignorant. to sit up there and justify it because it's white on white, black on black, man/woman, that type of thing, maybe hopefully the teacher might step in and say, you know, maybe we should show the pbs special on the real kkk. by the way, that ended up being totally embarrassed in indiana because they were misogynistic. they were crooked. they went to jail. they lynched people. we all know the history.

i have a 7-year-old grandson who quite honestly has more common sense than that mother, and i would end by saying quite honestly if i lived in the country, i'd have the child abuse authorities on that mother. because this is abusive. this is teaching that child to hate. >> bill press? >> i've got to echo that. that kid is going to grow up thinking the kk is something cute, something joke that adults will see and laugh at other than being told by that mother that what the kkk stands for is fundamentally wrong. that was a teaching moment for her. she sure missed the opportunity. >> the mississippi state senator with those neoconfederate links.

i said neo-nazi confederate links. chris mcdaniel says he only attended one as opposed to two of the noeo-confederate events. is that supposed to make things better? >> no. so you attended one. but it might have been a freudian slip on your part to say neo-nazi. could you imagine if he had attended, let's say, a neo-nazi event, what the impact would have been? can you imagine if that 7-year-old had dressed up as a nazi storm trooper. what the legitimate response would have been. i think that's exactly how we as common sense people are going to have to look at this. but that 7-year-old will probably as bill press said, grow up to be that state legislator or that elected official and carry on this awful tradition. you asked the question early on, al. who's going to tell these people

that they're 150 years behind. we are. that's what we've got to do. >> you know, bill, the right wing conspiracy block is now arguing that, quote, hitler would be pleased with president obama. i mean, why is this scary? because members of congress read this website. congressman steve stockman is even handing out the copies of the website's obama impeachment book to every member of congress, bill. >> there's so much going on here. first of all, i've got to say there's a common thread here with this guy down in mississippi and with this nazi talk. this is the tea party mantra. remember the tea party is essentially a racist organization. let's just be honest about that. we saw it from the very beginning with the white face they used to wear at the rallies, with the posters they used to hang around, with the confederate flags that i saw at tea party rallies here on the

washington mall, and the source of that tea party movement is that they've never been able to accept barack obama as a legitimate president. the birthers are part of it. they've never been able to accept a black man in the white house. then we see all these different manifestations of it. that's what's going on here. with all these different stories we're telling. it's part of the the same m.o. >> when you look at the fact that conservative republicans would say that the president's a muslim, he's not. 16% said it in october of 2008. by july of 2012, that number has jumped to 34%. the extreme rhetoric makes its way to average people who believe it. here's part of an interview -- let me show you this. here's part of an interview that jonathan capehart did in north carolina. listen to this. >> you don't think president obama loves this country. >> not at all. not one bit.

not one breath that comes out of his body. >> what about the capture and killing of osama bin laden? >> i don't think that ever happened. there are so many people within his administration that are part of it. they are admitted members of the muslim brotherhood. >> who exactly? >> i don't remember their names. they're not english. >> that's the danger of all this. all of it out there go to ordinary americans who really believe this stuff to be true. >> because they listen to each other. they don't. they're not critical thinkers, they don't read, they sit there -- look. they listen to fox. they listen to hannity. they listen to rush limbaugh. they sit there and listen to each other and they don't listen to anybody else to be able to be a critical thinker. and all of this calling him hitler and all, this is what is called in a debate transference. i will call you what i am before

you call me what i really know i am. >> bill? >> reverend al, real quickly i want to get to your question about who's going to tell these people. i think the voters of virginia are going to tell them tomorrow. because they have three candidates. governor, lieutenant governor, and an attorney general who are all tea party candidates who are all extremists and all three are going to be rejected by the voters of virginia tomorrow. i think that's going to send a message to the republican party. you stay with these wackos, these extreme people on the fringe and you're going to cease to exist as a party. >> from your lips to god's ears. >> i don't think all tea party people were extremists. i think we see a lot that are extreme, but i think some that joined the tea party did so because they have genuine feelings that i may disagree with, but they were not extreme. >> that's true. >> but they haven't done enough to quiet or to sever ties with these extremists so they get painted with a broad brush. and i think that that is something that they've got to

deal with like some of us that are considered on the left have had to deal with extremists on our side. >> well said. >> i've got to go. joe madison and bill press, thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thank you. >> thanks. live from new york, it was saturday night with kerry washington and yours truly. so why was i there? stick around. we'll be right back. pain. once you feel it coming, it's almost too late. or is it? introducing new fast acting advil. with an ultra-thin coating and fast absorbing advil ion core™ technology, nothing works faster. new fast acting advil. nothing works faster. how can i help you? oh, you're real? you know i'm real! at discover, we're always here to talk. good, 'cause i don't have time for machines. some companies just don't appreciate the power of conversation! you know, i like you! i like you too! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and talk to a real person.

the unjust new voter i.d. law in texas has claimed another victim. this time is man who was just heart beats away from the presidency. democratic congressman jim wright was speaker of the house in the late '80s. second in the line of succession to the president. he served in congress more than 30 years, and he fought in world war ii. but now he has to fight for his right to vote. wright told a texas newspaper that he was denied a voter i.d. card this weekend. because he didn't have the proper identification under the state's strict new voter i.d. guidelines. this legendary figure in texas politics is trying to get an i.d. again today. we'll see how it goes. tomorrow elections will be the

first one in the state's history where the new law is in effect. and it's having a huge impact on minorities and women. even state senator wendy davis, the democrat running for governor, had to sign an affect to vote because the names on her driver's license and voter card didn't match. voters, voters, voters. look, folks. this is what voter suppression looks like. it's the new jim crow. but we beat it before and we'll do it again. this year and beyond. whenever they try to roll back the right to vote, we'll be fighting it. and you're talking to your rheumatologist about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years.

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with centurylink as your trusted partner, our visionary cloud infrastructure and global broadband network free you to focus on what matters. with custom communications solutions and responsive, dedicated support, we constantly evolve to meet your needs. every day of the week. centurylink® your link to what's next. to share with family. [ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious. finally tonight, this past saturday night "saturday night live" tackled the issue of diversity head on by making fun of itself. the guest host kerry washington opened the show playing multiple women like michelle obama and

oprah. then i made an appearance to open the show. >> see, this is going to be a great party. >> good evening. i'm the reverend al sharpton. [ applause ] what have we learned from this sketch? as usual, nothing. live from new york it's saturday night! >> so now rather than duck the issue that had been brought up by some about its cast, dealt with it head on and promised to rectify it. for that i'll show up live any night. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. something borrowed. let's play "hardball." ♪